After toying with the idea that the classified documents allegedly taken and concealed by President Trump might've been his personal records, US District Judge Aileen Cannon has received an unusual "direct challenge" from special counsel Jack Smith, the Washington Post reports. Indeed, in Tuesday's filing, Smith makes clear his opinion that the legal premise embraced by Cannon is "fundamentally flawed" and threatens to take the case to the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which could act to remove her from the case. More:
- Before even ruling on the relevant laws, Trump-nominated Cannon asked both sides to propose jury instructions based on two interpretations of the Presidential Records Act (PRA). The first would allow the jury to decide whether an ex-president had deemed records held as personal or official. The second assumes Trump could make a document personal by not turning it over to the National Archives.